Double Indemnity: The Complete Screenplay - Softcover

Wilder, Billy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520218485 ISBN 13: 9780520218482

Publisher: University of California Press, 2000

Synopsis

On every level - writing, direction, acting - "Double Indemnity" (1944) is a triumph and stands as one of the greatest achievements in Billy Wilder's career. Adapted from the James M. Cain novel by director Wilder and novelist Raymond Chandler, it tells the story of an insurance salesman, played by Fred MacMurray, who is lured into a murder-for-insurance plot by Barbara Stanwyck, in an archetypal femme fatale role. From its grim story to its dark, atmospheric lighting, "Double Indemnity" is a definitive example of World War II-era film noir. Wilder's approach is everywhere evident: in the brutal cynicism the film displays, the moral complexity, and in the empathy we feel for the killers. The film received almost unanimous critical success, garnering seven Academy Award nominations. More than fifty years later, most critics agree that this classic is one of the best films of all time. The collaboration between Wilder and Raymond Chandler produced a masterful script and some of the most memorable dialogue ever spoken in a movie. This facsimile edition of "Double Indemnity" contains Wilder and Chandler's original - and quite different - ending, published here for the first time. Jeffrey Meyers' introduction contextualizes the screenplay, providing hilarious anecdotes about the turbulent collaboration, as well as background information about Wilder and the film's casting and production.

About this title

Review:

"Part of a series of published screenplays by the great Hollywood director-writer Billy Wilder, this one is for the brilliant 1944 film noir. . . "--"Sacramento Bee

Synopsis:

This screenplay adapted from the James M. Cain novel tells the story of an insurance man, who is lured into a murder-for-insurance plot. This edition contains Wilder and Chandler's original ending which was different from that of the 1944 film.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0520218485
• ISBN 13: 9780520218482
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 140